The President's Last Choice
by whyarealltheusernamestaken
Summary: Usui made a huge mistake, and as unforgivable as it is, he wants Misaki back, except now she's practically Igarashi's fiancé. Will she be able to forgive him... ever? Or would she stay with Igarashi, her pillar of support during her hardest times?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own ideas!**

Prologue

She took one last bitter look into his face, her expression unexpectedly calm and blank, before turning around. The words that she wanted to say in the spur of the moment caught in her throat.

_I hate you._


	2. The Maid-sama's Unexpected Visitor

**Phew, new series, this will be my first time writing about Maid-sama, hopefully everything turns out well!**

**Chapter 1: **

"Please come again, Masters!" The pretty and tall girl bowed, smiling serenely. Dazed, the group of high school boys walked away, not even noticing as they bumped into a blonde man.

"Sorry." One of them apologized without much sincerity before they walked off, drooling slightly.

The blonde man rolled his eyes, _annoying_, he thought as he walked up to the girl who just turned away and grabbed her by the waist.

"Kaichou, what kind of Tokyo University graduate still plays master and maid these days?" he whispered in her ear through clenched teeth.

The girl ignored him, "How may I serve you today, Master?" She turned around, the same captivating smile plastered on her face.

Caught by surprise by the large honey hazel eyes peering into his face, Igarashi Tora turned a deep shade of prune and resigned to sitting in a table by himself accompanied by a milk parfait.

"Is this what the future Igarashi Corporation's president's wife and the CEO of the largest café chain in the country should be doing?" He muttered under his breath as the girl brought over a plate of heart-shaped cookies.

She hummed lightly, "Just some fun before a boring marriage." She said in a barely audible whisper, Igarashi's lip twitched, the stupid and annoying woman.

As she skated away, Igarashi's eyes turned from being irritated and amused to dark and gloomy.

The woman seemed no different, but he had no idea what was going on inside her head.

After the bastard left her, he spent almost every moment of whatever time he could spare to be with her, scorning and teasing, yet never once has he ever been able to grab the expression that he longed for; it was almost as though it was reserved for that bastard, and that bastard alone.

Either way, she was his now. Sooner or later, she was going to think of nothing but him, even if he made no progress for the past six years, and nobody was going to take her away from him.

He looked at his clock, half an hour has passed. Swearing slightly, he got up and quickly paid his bills.

"Come back soon, Master!" he briefly slid his hand across hers, a silent promise exchanged between them.

He smirked, "Maki will pick you up after work, he might be a little late though, of course… if you prefer to see me instead, come to my office at eight."

He looked into her face, not a shred of evidence remained there that the two had merely said nothing but a simple greeting. Once again impressed by her wizardry, he bowed to her and left without another word, out of the corner of his eyes, a flash of blonde hair seemed to stroke in and out of sight.

Shaking his head slightly, _that's not possible, _he thought, before comfortably sitting back into his car and driving away.

Little did he know that his beloved fiancé will not be in his office at eight, in fact, when he arrives home at midnight, her manager would call in and report that she had apparently disappeared when an extremely handsome young crashed in through the front door, hit her on the head suddenly, and dragged her out after throwing the café a signed contract of buying off the entire café.

**Tell me your thoughts!**


	3. The Maid-sama's Temporary Rest

**Thanks for all the reviews!**

**Bloodyredlilypads: Yes, you probably will see some first person narratives in later chapters, though at the moment, I don't want to reveal too much just yet. **

Chapter 2: Temporary Rest

Igarashi Tora paced back and force in the room, sweat glistened on his forehead, his pile of work stacked on top of his desk forgotten as his heart thumped loudly, being worried was not his forte.

There was a slight knock and Maki entered, a frown on his face, "President, you should try for some rest, it is nearly 4AM."

Igarashi glared at him and Maki winced, the man bowed and left.

There was no doubt in his mind that Usui Takumi was the one that kidnap his fiancé, and it was him that he feared the most, because he knew, he had the power of a magnet on metal with Misaki.

He was not quite sure how much longer he paced that he finally sat down on the sofa, rubbing his temples with a frown between his eyebrows.

There was another knock on the door; it was nearly 7AM.

"Come in." He muttered in a tired and low voice, the door pushed open and there stood Misaki, still in her maid uniform and a scowl on her face.

Without thinking, he tried to pounce on her, and she dodged gracefully, "Geez Igarashi, I'm dying from lack of sleep."

_Lack of sleep?_

"What do you mean?" He asked in a dangerous voice, _I'm going to kill him…_

She sighed and laid down on his sofa, "Well, after I left, I forgot my cell phone and wallet at the café so I had no idea where to go. I was lost since 2AM."

He let out a sigh of relief, "so what did you do before then?"

"You ask too many question, Igarashi, can we talk after I wake up?" She made herself comfortable and grabbed his jacket from the side of the sofa and covered herself with it.

Irritated, Igarashi pulled his jacket off her and shook her gently, "Kaichou… explain, if you please." He gave her a business like smile and settled down by her feet.

Sensing his emotions, Misaki closed her eyes and murmured in a sleepy voice, "Well after I woke up, I left."

Igarashi twitched, "I worked that part out, Kaichou. Would you please kindly tell me _how_ you did that, and what did you do before that?"

"Well, I woke up and I kicked him and then I left." She said shortly in the same dreamy voice.

"You… you kicked him?"

"Yes, are you deaf?"

"Just like that?"

"Obviously."

"What did he do after?"

"He tried to chase me I think."

"Wait, this is Usui Takumi we're talking about?"

"Don't mention his name."

"Seriously, Kaichou… you kicked Usui Takumi?"

"Seriously, get your ears checked."

"Wait, you beat him in a fist fight?"

"Shut up."

Deciding that his fiancé will say nothing more, Igarashi laughed, settled down beside her, and fell asleep instantly.

Meanwhile.

The blonde man lifted his shirt up in front of the mirror; a very obvious bruise was starting to swell up on his side.

"That looks nasty." He said to himself, "Well well… isn't this interesting… Ayuzawa?"

By the time Misaki woke up, it was nearly five PM, she pushed Igarashi gently, the man stirred.

"I'm hungry." She said hoarsely.

He groaned, now that she mentioned it, his stomach growled loudly.

The woman changed quickly into a shimmering, silky blue dress. Igarashi grinned at his fiancé, _her curves had really developed well_, he thought.

"Quit staring at me, you should change too." She said monotonously, back to her usual manner with him. Igarashi felt his smile falter slightly, Misaki had never really shown any other expressions to him, this morning was special, he quite wished that she actually had things to say to him.

_You really don't love me at all, do you?_

He asked without saying anything, he did not want to know the answer.

The two stepped into a small French restaurant, "you know, I prefer ramen." Misaki muttered in a low voice to her companion, who merely smirked.

"Sorry, it's a business meeting, you see," he snaked his hand around her waist, "but if you can restrain yourself, I'll take you out for ramen later."

She ignored him.

Several meters away from them, a pair of green eyes followed the pair, though he himself was also a source of attention to the waitresses around him.

_Well, Ayuzawa, you did always call me a perverted alien stalker._


	4. The Maid-sama's Bad Choice

**Yay, one more chapter before I retire for the night.**

**Hm, I'm rather curious, who do you like better, Usui or Igarashi?**

**Personally, I think that Igarashi is earning more points at the moment, though that could change!**

Chapter 3:

_It was a beautiful day, full of sunshine and radiance. Misaki pulled a cap over her head and burst through Usui's door with a large present held behind her back, and a huge smile on her face. _

_When she did not find him in the living room, she peered into the bedroom._

_Her mouth fell open_

"Kaichou, you really like being a maid don't you?" Igarashi asked on his sofa, well, her sofa.

Misaki gave him a nonchalant look, "how long are you going to call me Kaichou?"

"Well, after we marry I suppose…" he drifted off, "how about we hold the wedding tomorrow?"

"How about no?" she dropped her maid uniform into the closet and sat beside him, "I'm tired." She whispered.

Over the years, Igarashi had become someone who was just there but completely invisible, like a body part, though of course, missing a body part would be excruciatingly painful.

Ever since the night before, Igarashi has been trying, without any hope of success, to convince his fiancée to marry as soon as possible.

_The nerve of him…_

Usui Takumi had _paid_ a waitress to spill juice all over him, which meant he had to take care of in the washroom, and when he returned, the man was all over his fiancée, who paid him no heed.

Of course, Igarashi's first impression was anger, then, it was a strange satisfaction. It certainly was nice to see Misaki digging into her food like a lady while Takumi flocked beside her, his face nearly touching hers.

"There are certainly many bees in this restaurant." He remembered her saying; he was so happy that he forgot the fact that he was drenched in grape juice.

"Bees find it hard to resist flowers."

After that, he grabbed her and left the restaurant without another word.

"Tora," she called gently beside him, he rarely called him by his first name, "I want to open a new café in Tokyo."

He smiled, "of course."

"… on the day of our marriage." She finished, her eyes now fully on his.

Igarashi swallowed, she always caught him so off guard.

Taking his failed attempt at covering his emotions as a yes, Misaki smirked and got up, walked into the kitchen and started to cook.

The blonde fell onto the comfortable surface the moment she left and turned on the television. Misaki did not like watching television, but he did from time to time while he was waiting for her to cook, he enjoyed watching her cook more, nevertheless, the hollow expression while she cooked made him feel like tearing a certain someone to pieces every single time.

He flicked lazily between channels, until a handsome face caught his eye.

"Mr. Usui, what is your reason for coming to Japan?"

He watched the hated man smile politely, "I'm hoping to gain the heart of the woman I love."

"Well, I'm sure she would be happy to have you."

"Oh, I certainly hope so, she is, after all, my first love." Flashes of cameras started to go off like crazy as soon as he dropped the sentence; the questions came down him in flames, while Tora turned the damned thing off.

_I hate TV_. He decided.

A dreamy smell of curry filled his nostrils, he drifted into the kitchen. Of all the things that were good since their break-up for Igarashi was that one; she was now his and two; she became damn good cook.

"Smells good." He stretched his arms in front of himself and laid down on the marble counter, observing her swift movements.

She was very pretty in an apron in his opinion.

Before long, a plate of curry was placed between them on the counter, "I thought it might save plates." Was her simple reason.

"Itadakimasu." The two mumbled humbly before digging in. From time to time, their cutlery would clang together, although Misaki did not look like she minded, Igarashi could barely taste the well-seasoned curry.

The meal did not last long, and he left soon after with a full stomach and a happy thought, his worries forgotten behind him.

Minutes after his departure, Misaki heard her doorbell ring, thinking that it could be Igarashi again, she opened the door in the middle of changing, only in her lingerie.

"Ah, Ayuzawa, I never knew you were such a eager woman."


	5. The Maid-sama's Secrets

**This chapter is rather long, the next is a little bit shorter. **

**Chapter 4: **

If Misaki said that she was completely undisturbed by his appearance, she would be lying. In fact, it took much of her strength to stand her ground. Every time she saw him, bad memories would surge forward, swarmed by a strange complicated feeling that she could not understand. She was the epitome of a stupid girl who was betrayed by love, and he was the reason. Now though, she was no longer a 'girl', she was a 'woman', who could now stand with him on the stage and no one would be able to talk negatively about her. Ayuzawa Misaki was _that_ successful, the so-called 'Empress of The Business World', combined with brains and looks, well-known celebrity and rich bachelorette, what man would not want her? She first started just to say "In your face!" to him when they met again, though now that the time has come, she just simply looked at him.

"Come in." Were the two words that slipped easily out of her mouth while she stood in her lingerie in front of him, realizing this fact, she remembered the horribly short bathrobe that Igarashi bought for her, and so she slipped it on. Even without looking, she could feel his gaze on her, caressing her up and down with his eyes.

Embarrassment?

Nah, lingerie was just like bikinis, and she's posed in bikinis way too many times to care, or maybe Misaki was just too good at lying to herself

(flashback)

_As she ran away, like a liar asking for forgiveness, Usui appeared everywhere she went, so she hid in the one place she was sure he would not look. Before she knew it, she ended up in Igarashi Tora's mansion on a sunny Saturday morning. It was not as though she expected him to let her in, but she had a feeling he would, and lucky for her, he did. _

_(flashback end)_

"Have you eaten yet?" she led him through to the kitchen, pulling out ingredients from the fridge, even though moments before, the house seemed so warm with Igarashi in it, it was now below freezing.

She could still feel him staring at her, she never could figure out what Usui Takumi was thinking, and she still cannot.

"It smells like curry." He commented, sniffing the kitchen, Ayuzawa chose to ignore it.

Really, she did not care about the incident anymore, she moved on, it was over, there was nothing left between them. He can go and do whatever he wants, she could not care less, if she were to describe their relationship, it would be old friends. Despite everything, memories had already replaced what once she believed was love. Usui taught her so much irreplaceable things in life, how it feels to truly fall for someone, integrity, to see out the box, and that does not matter who or what, they cannot be trusted, though Ayuzawa would agree that Tora had earned himself her trust.

_If that's the case… then why is it so hard to keep a straight face?_

Over the years, the one thing that Ayuzawa learned was to lie.

To everybody, even herself.

"Is omelet rice alright?"

When she had fallen, it was Igarashi who picked her up and allowed her to rearrange herself. It was one wrong move, and she slipped, if she waited for him instead of rushing to his house, perhaps it would have been different. She would have liked it better if Usui had straight out told her that he no longer loved her, but that's not what he did. With all her strength, she tried to hate him, and she was successful, but the more she hated him, the more she thought of him, the more she thought of him, the more she realized how much he meant to her, and the more she realized that, the harder it became to let go. It took the strength that Igarashi lent her, the mask she hastily forged, and Gerald Walker to finally convince him to give her up… at least for a while.

"Anything Ayuzawa cooks is fine." Sweet words and gentle actions, that was part of him, but it was his support that eventually that caused her to become so infatuated with him. Usui always seemed to know exactly what she wanted even if she gave no indication of so, he noticed everything about her that nobody else bothered, he was always a step ahead of her and holding her hands while skating backwards.

Igarashi is different; he has not the slightest concept of how she might be feeling. Instead of being gentle, he was rather violent when things did not go as he planned, the more Ayuzawa got to know him, the more she became aware of how easily Igarashi blushed, how absurdly clumsy and soft-hearted he was. They were so different, yet Ayuzawa fell for them both. She enjoyed his clumsiness, the way he tried so hard to impress her, while Usui could simply do that with a click of a finger. She valued his hard work as much as his awkwardness.

"Do you collect these?" She turned the fire to medium and sat down beside Usui, who was looking through one of her drawers on the bottom of her bookshelf.

He arrived in her world so suddenly, sweeping away all her senses and everything else possibly worth sweeping, and then he was gone as unforeseen as he appeared, except even after she tried to banish him from his world, he always seemed to know a secret route back in.

She shook his head, "Igarashi does."

"He puts these in your house?"

"I believe he has another collection that he keeps." Through the photos, Ayuzawa examined her own face, never in her life did she think she would end up modeling and singing with her once horrible voice. People were right, the more torn apart you are, the better you sing, so Ayuzawa sang pretty damn well.

Somehow, she has grown to know Takumi pretty well too, his actions were more predictable than she thought, she felt a foreign smile forming on her face as his teeth clenched.

Out of nowhere, he flung himself on top of her, his hands on either side of her hips, Ayuzawa stared into those familiar green eyes lazily.

"Misaki." He looked at her feverishly, hungrily devouring her gaze, "Have you really forgotten me?" He whispered, his voice barely audible over the whirl of the stove. Though his voice did not betray him, his eyes did. From the flicker of the limes; Misaki could sense an emotion she rarely found in Takumi's eyes – fear.

"I think it's done, the omelet" She murmured, pushing her way out of his arms and away into the stove, he did not stop her.

After she set the table for him, she went to take a shower. It was quite late, Misaki slipped out of her silky robe, an unusual weight over her body. She sighed and leaned on the sink, a hand over her forehead, she turned the bathroom light off. Quickly, she switched on the shower and stepped in frantically, allowing the water to wash over her while she felt her body shake ever so slightly.

When he first left her, she remembered sitting on Igarashi's bed and staring out of his large window. She thought she could not feel anything, but it was painful, it was so painful she was sure she would go crazy and on a rampage, but at the same time she felt so weak, no more strength to carry out her usual duty. She stayed in Igarashi's bedroom for days after a hasty call home to reassure her mother.

Then one day, she could take no more, and with a surge of adrenaline ran out of his house and into a forest, screaming and howling her head off, by the time she was done, she simply crouched down near a try and started wailing like a baby. That was the first time she cried over the matter, screaming until her throat was raw and her eyes felt bruised, until every single muscle in her body could spasm no more. In the dark of the night, she allowed herself to fly out of control. Or perhaps like a balloon, she simply popped.

Soon after, she stepped out of the shower and applied a clean white mask over her face; her eyes were rather red.

She walked out, drying her hair with a towel to find Usui standing by the door, "did someone come?"

He shook his head with a small grin, "I was just interested what else would be in this closet."

Ayuzawa stared at him, and then shook her head with a small sigh, _liar_, "goodnight, Usui, no, I mean Takumi."

"Wait, Misaki." Hearing his voice, she felt her chest twinge, _I don't have any feelings for him… I don't have any feelings for him…_ she told herself firmly.

"May I help you?"

Gently, she felt him grab her hand from behind; she froze. He caressed her hand with his own, over the years, his hand had gotten rougher, Misaki closed her eyes, tugging back the tears that were threatening to spill.

She felt him hesitating, "Ayuza- no, Misaki…" she breathed as deeply as she dared, trying her hardest to stop him from noticing her slightly ragged breathing, "I think I have told you this millions of times before… I'm sorry, it's my fault."

It was taking Misaki every ounce of her extensive will power just to stop herself from shaking.

"I didn't think… that Gerald would get me drunk… I didn't realize… that the girl was not you…" He clasped her hand tighter, "Do I not get another chance?"

Using her last strength, she pulled her hand away from him and whispered, without turning around in the harshest manner she could manage, "You're pathetic." Without wasting another millisecond, she buried herself in the nearest room, which happened to be Tora's. She leapt into the bed and ripped the mask off her face, with a pillow muffling her voice, she hoped her thumping heart would stop throbbing so horribly.

So completely and utterly alone she was in the dark room, surrounded by Igarashi's smell while sobbing pitifully over Usui. She had a strange urge to laugh at herself, Usui was not the pathetic one, she was. Over the course of the six years, putting down Usui was all she ever thought about, until Igarashi integrated into her life, now she could not return to Usui even if she wanted to, she really brought this over on herself, she really has become a wretched woman with no more destination.

As the way she was, she was not worthy for either of them.

What happened to all her beautiful goals? How could she allow them to be ruined in those five seconds?

**Rewind**

Usui watched as the man drove away with a happy expression, and he smirked. He was slightly nervous, but in a good way, in a rare, excited sort of manner.

He had been anticipating for this moment for a while, the last time they met, she kicked her in the face, he wondered what she would do this time. _Ayuzawa never cease to be interesting_, he felt his smirk falter slightly, the situation was direr than he tried to think it was, he was waist deep in a substance called 'I-cheated-on-my-girl-friend-and-now-she-won't-for give-me'.

When she opened the door, he thought his mouth was going to drop open, though he somehow was able to maintain the same smug expression.

"Ah, Ayuzawa, I never knew you were such an eager woman." He glanced her up and down, sweat was starting to break out, it was a pleasant sight, though it annoyed him that Igarashi saw more of this side of her than he did.

Maybe she noticed his discomfort, but she grabbed a silky gray short bathrobe out of nowhere and threw it over herself. The light gleamed off her hair and her glossy skin, her honey coloured eyes seemed to be drawing him in, every part of her was teasing him. He felt like an idiot, standing outside undressing her with his eyes while she barely paid him any attention.

"Come in."

Surprised at the two words that bounced off her lips, he gracefully stepped in and closed the door behind him. The room was well-decorated in his opinion, not like Ayuzawa's style at all, everything was so graceful and clean, without a single spot of imperfection, it somewhat disappointed him.

"Have you eaten yet?" Drawing his attention back to her, he fixed his eyes on her legs while following her swaying hips into the kitchen.

_This isn't the time to be thinking of this!_ His plan to destabilize his relationship with Misaki seemed to be falling apart; her get-up was not a part of his plan.

Well, going free-style was more of his thing anyway.

He settled on a seat by the marble counter, the seat was slightly warm; he wondered if it was Igarashi or Misaki who sat on it previously.

"Is omelet rice alright?"

_She can cook?_

He raised an eyebrow, "Anything Ayuzawa cooks is fine." He was at a loss at what to do, Misaki obviously was not trying to help him with his plan, and he himself was suddenly messing everything up, the last time his heart felt like this was when he forcefully kissed her, that sweet but forbidden feeling, even though he wants more… even though he cannot have more…

Getting up before he attacks her, Takumi stumbled to her bookshelf, which consisted volumes and volumes of complicated looking books that even Takumi would not bother reading, his eyes fell instead on a locked drawer on the bottom.

Curious, he bent down and opened it, it was unlocked, there were several photo collections in nice books, but also many clippings from magazines, even several small and large life-sized posters of Misaki. He smirked; he had practically every single one of these stashed in his own apartment. Taking out his favorite photo shoot of Misaki, he flicked through it, making note of the model that was in these photos is actually his (ex-) girlfriend, who now stood not even four meters away from him.

At the last page, a small photo fell out; it consisted of Misaki in casual attire, simply staring out the window. This shot was obviously unprofessional, though the way her eyes seemed so unfocused caught his attention, there was some sort of emotion that was causing his heart to wretch. Mesmerized, his attention averted from the photo back to reality when there was a gentle thunk in which Misaki closed the lid over the pot. Before he realized what he was doing, the photo already rested in his pocket.

"Do you collect these?" He waved the photos at her, who had the same thoughtless, zombie-like look.

She settled down close to him, he wanted to move closer to her, she was not actually far, but there was something wrong about the distance between them, and it bothered him.

Her hand slid across several pictures on the pile that Takumi laid out, "Igarashi does." She said quietly, her voice gentle as she traced the syllables into his name, the way she said his name _really_ annoyed Takumi.

"He puts these in your house?" He asked, he did not really care, it was more like… something to hide his annoyance.

Ayuzawa chewed her lips, Takumi found it very cute, if he was allowed, he would hug her, "I believe he has another copy he keeps." He watched her flip through her own photos, there was a detached feeling about it, no, it was not exactly detached… she simply looked… tired.

Tired of all the drama, of all the hopes and dreams she had, tired of the feeling that had gone all wrong, tired of being all alone, blaming herself on the things that she cannot control. Tired was the one word that Takumi never thought he would use to describe Ayuzawa, who was always so sunny, full of energy and life, the sun that brightened his world… is it really wrong to want to chase after the sun who was threatening to never return?

From somewhere beneath her weary face emerged a small smile that was not small enough to escape from Takumi. It happened fast, he placed his hands on either side of her and leaned into her face. The honey coloured eyes bored into his, teasing him with their come-and-get-me-if-you-can look, Takumi always did love a challenge.

"Misaki," He started, but as soon as her name rolled off his tongue, he felt both of his arms slacken, an unknown pain stabbing at his heart, and before he knew it, the question he has always so wanted to know burst out like a bubble, "Have you really forgotten me?" His voice sounded weak to him, almost pleading, he tried to capture her in his gaze, but his power on her seemed to have dimmed, all the confidence he held faded away second after second as she failed to respond.

Instead, she pushed him inside, her soft hands felt like a thousand pounds landing on his heart, crushing it.

"I think it's done, the omelet." He allowed himself to be pushed aside and shook his head quickly, brining back the smug smile on his face, heavier than usual. When he dug into the omelet, the food that she made for _him_, not for anyone else, but him. As he turned around to give her a compliment, he noticed her already walking away, a familiar panic took over and he chased after her… until he realized she was only going to the bathroom for a shower.

Outside the door, he could hear the shower being turned out and her stepping behind the glass door, the thin door made him feel as though they were miles apart.

It was one result that he did not think would ever happen, the day that they fell apart. They were celebrating his graduation from the high school and the establishment of the company and the wonderful deals that would sure to keep the new company going for years. Little did he know that all the deals, everyone that had been present at the party were there not because they adored him, well, they were partially charmed by Takumi's façade, though they were even more charmed by Gerald's large pile of cash.

Before he knew it, he was drowsy after only a single champagne, the guests left rather fast, and soon after a dark haired girl who looked much like Misaki ran towards her, grabbing his arm with concern, he kissed her blurred features and in a slurred voice asked her to go to the roof with him. The girl accepted and the two stumbled into the night, and under the moon, he remembered kneeling down (almost falling over in the process) and asking her to marry him in a barely coherent voice. The entire event was exhilarating for him, he had slipped the ring onto the girl's blurred finger and carried her blurred figure out the blurred door and into the blurred street, shouted out to blurred people that he was getting married, and opened the blurred door to his apartment and threw her onto his blurred bed, until he could no longer take control of his blurred consciousness.

By the time he regained consciousness, it was already morning, his head hurt badly and he heard his bedroom door slam open with a loud scream of 'Happy eighteenth birthday, Usui!" Smiling happily, he rose and ignored his pounding headache and opened his arms at the raven haired, lemon-eyed girl who stared him with a horrified expression before turning on her heel and a loud door slam rang in his ears.

Disturbed, he realized that he was completely naked and a Misaki look-alike lay on the bed beside him, hastily pulling on her clothes too and ran out the door too.

Bewildered, he tried to remember what happened, but recognized the situation he was in. For once, he swore loudly and ran out the door after pulling on a pair of pants and grabbing a jacket at breakneck speed.

The sound of Misaki's doorbell at present time broke Takumi from his daydream, he walked to the door and peered at the person who stood outside. Unsurprised, Takumi smirked.

"Ah, Tiger-kun, how can I help you?"

Shocked at the voice that greeted him, Igarashi pounded at the door and yelled at him, "What are you doing here? Where's Misaki? What did you do to her?"

His angry and concerned voice irritated Takumi, Igarashi had no right to take Misaki from him, nobody had. Misaki was his sun, how dare he just steal that? Deep down, Takumi knew that he was the one that threw his sun out the door, nevertheless, it didn't stop him from wanting to strangle Igarashi.

"Shower." He replied simply, he smiled deviously as Igarashi's mouth dropped open.

"Give up, Tiger-kun, we're simply having a dinner together, doesn't the boyfriend have a key?"

Igarashi's fury grew, flames seemed to be bursting out from his eyes, "I didn't want to reveal this yet… but she's my fiancée, get your terminology right, Usui!" It was not like Igarashi to lose control in front of others, but when his fiancée was stuck together with a beast, there was not much he could do.

At the sound fiancée, Takumi's heart skipped a beat. _He's kidding… right?_ That was _his_ spot in the first place, not Igarashi's. The guy simply stepped in and took everything away from him. As though a volcano erupted, Takumi allowed his face to be lit by a bright smile.

"Tiger-kun, remember how Misaki kicked me and ran away last time? She's perfectly capable of herself, yet she _allowed_ me to stay here, don't you know what that means?" He no longer cared how many people he had to hurt, as long as that one person stuck with him.

Silence greeted him, he looked through the peephole, and saw Igarashi running away from the door rapidly. Takumi watched him with a raised an eyebrow, _how half hearted_ he thought, _leaving just because of that_.

"Did someone come?"

Takumi turned around with a small smile and shook his head, "I was just interested in what else would be in this closet." She blinked at him and sighed.

"Good night Usui, no, I mean Takumi."

Watching her leave with such a dejected look was pulling at him again, every time she walked away, he had the strangest feeling of as though she would never return, reflexively, he called out to her, "Wait, Misaki."

He failed her, broke their unspoken promises, cut the bonds between them and allowed her to be stained with that memory because of his own failure to act.

Because while he was drowned him pleasure that night, he knew somewhere that the blurred woman was not Misaki, and it was that thought that haunted him, and he knew that Misaki knew him too well to know that he would not be able to mistake her for anyone else, even if he were on the verge of death.

In the end, it was just guilt.

"May I help you?" She asked in a small voice, it was barely audible over his thoughts, he grabbed her hand, it shot a surge of electricity up his own arm, it has been six years since he made skin contact with him, not including the kick from a few days prior.

"Ayuza- no, Misaki…" he began, trying for another excuse, whatever method me might need to take to have her back over his failure. If this happened before the incident, he would have thought that he would never force her to do anything, he would never try to possess her if she did not want to, really, he did not know himself too well.

"I think I have told you this millions of times before… I'm sorry, it's my fault." Not able to notice a single change in her, except a small change in stance, he continued "I didn't think… that Gerald would get me drunk… I didn't realize… that the girl was not you…" He clasped her hand tighter, "Do I not get another chance?" he was afraid that she would slap away his hand easily, it was not something that he ever thought he would worry about, except he did.

His anxiety came true when she pulled her hand away from him, "You're pathetic." He heard her say and her settling into a bedroom.

Not knowing what to feel, he sat back in front of the counter and chewed the omelet rice.

_It tastes good_, he thought.

When he was done, he walked down the hall and looked at the first bedroom, it had 'Igarashi' written on a piece of paper and stuck on it. Deciding that this was probably the place where he was asked to spend the night, he walked in and climbed into the bed, he fell asleep almost immediately, the room smelled like Misaki.

**Rewind again…**

Igarashi had not meant to leave the present for Maki in Misaki's apartment, but he did, so he turned the car around to retrieve it.

He rang the doorbell, he hoped Misaki was not asleep yet, Misaki was rarely asleep this early.

"Ah, Tiger-kun, how may I help you." A drawling voice called through the speaker, Tora jolted.

"What are you doing here? Where's Misaki? What did you do to her?" He blurted out, rather than being concerned, he was uneasy. The man on the other side of the door did, after all, have the power to snatch her away from him at any moment. Tora was only slightly ashamed of himself, though that was not nearly the problem.

"Shower." The annoying voice said, Tora swallowed hard, things were not going the way he wanted them to. Though when it came to Misaki, he hardly had any power over her. He took a look at his watch, it was already too late, Misaki's phone was already unplugged.

"Give up, Tiger-kun, we're simply having a dinner together, doesn't the boyfriend have a key?" Tora twitched, how he wanted to hit the man.

Powerless and annoyed, Tora decided to play his game, "I didn't want to reveal this yet… but she's my fiancée, get your terminology right, Usui!" Satisfied at the silence on the other side, Tora smirked inwardly, though the relief was only temporary, he knew his problem was far from solved.

It was Misaki's decision after all, he would bomb her apartment open, though that would simply make her angry. The thing that Misaki would want him to do was to simply wait for her. It was not trust that she wanted from him, strangely enough, Misaki never once said 'trust me' to him. Maybe it was because the situation never came up, that did not stop him from saying to her though…

The first time she ended up in his bedroom was interesting, there was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach when he saw her empty eyes. In his eyes, Ayuzawa was powerful, and interesting, the Ayuzawa that stood in front of him back then gave him that foreign urge to shake her and find out what happened, but also to hold her and tell her everything was alright. That has always been his relationship with her, too scared to approach, but cared too much to withdraw.

It seemed as though Usui said something, but Tora was no longer listening. He ran out to the car and grabbed a blanket, and then returned outside the blanket and settled down beside the apartment door, closed his eyes, and attempted to fall asleep.

Despite everything and whatever feelings Misaki had for Usui, Tora knew Misaki cared about him too, somewhere, and somehow, she was dependent on her. So he would simply trust her, even if the words were not spoken.


	6. The Maid-sama's Impossible Situation

**Thank you for all the reviews! It really motivates me to write a little bit faster. Don't hesitate to point out anything that doesn't seem to match... I'll be sure to change it!**

Dislaimer: I'm too poor to own anything!

Chapter 6: The Maid-sama's Impossible Situation

When Tora first saw her, not quite broken, but her seams torn apart and stuffing falling out, he thought he would kill Usui Takumi just to relieve his anger. After chasing after her for so long, after losing her to him, Usui seemed to have just tossed her to Tora as though to say 'Ha, because I can!' and that really annoyed Tora, it infuriated him to the point that he allowed one of his business partners to almost see him without his perfect mask. Keyword: _almost_.

Ayuzawa has never been in front of him so defenseless before, never so tamed, as though her fire was not only doused, but the ashes tossed into the deepest pits of the ocean. He was not quite sure if he should hold her, laugh at her, tease her, say 'I told you so', or to ignore her. It was the first time Igarashi Tora was lost, and definitely not the last.

Though hidden in his anger, there was exhilarating giddiness and happiness, it was the first time Tora felt such exhilaration, he hid that back of course. Misaki was like a ghost for most of summer vacation, in order to keep her parents and sister from finding out, he arranged a set amount of money similar to her salary as a maid to keep them from noticing. She rarely moved away from him bedroom, simply lying in his bed and staring out the windows, sometimes, she used his iPad for various little games, wasting her time by breaking through level after level of Angry Birds. Once in a while, he would find her outside the glass doors in his room, sitting in his swing and staring at the roses in his personal garden. One time, without realizing what he was doing, he took a picture of her in his cell phone, simply resting there with roses surrounding her. Her eyes were so hollow, and he tried everything to restore some life in it, though whatever he did, they remained as they did, empty.

Though it still haunted him that Usui's ring remained on her finger, and it was a fact that she had not yet taken it off. It was neither a wedding nor an engagement ring, but it annoyed him.

Tora wondered what the hell Usui did to make her like this.

All he could do was love her with all he had, giving up the hope of her loving her back. When she could no longer even fake a smile, when nothing could make her feel brave again, when even the temporary relieves caused her pain.

It was a normal day, he had finished his work as fast as possible and returned to his bedroom after a hasty call to his father, only to find his bed unmade but Ayuzawa out of it. He went hysteric, nothing else mattered at the moment except to find her, and hopefully she will be safe. Then it dawned on him merely moments later and he rushed to the forest… the forest where Usui had proposed to Ayuzawa.

When he arrived, he found her hiccupping herself back to sanity and the ring on her finger gone, probably buried somewhere on the ground or hanging from a tree branch.

He felt relieved to see the ring gone, it was as though a burden lifted from his heart. It was shameful that the ring was the thing that caught his attention first. Though he knew her pride, and it was part of his job to keep his pride for now, so he allowed her to hiccup herself into silence and sleep before carrying her back.

(Present time)

Misaki groaned, her head ached from crying the night before, sighing, she rolled over on the familiar bed, her arm landed on something, deciding that it was Igarashi she pulled herself closer to him and buried herself to his side, being with him made her made her feel safe. This morning though, it was different, there was something in the pit of her stomach telling her to get up and run, and she realized it when she recognized the scent… the familiar but distant scent…

Takumi felt something snuggle close to him, and her cheek on his shoulder, he froze. He was dreaming, right? Why was Ayuzawa sleeping beside him? Or rather, why was she being so… carefree around him?

In another moment, he felt her leave their contact; he too opened his eyes. For one fleeting moment, he could see surprise in her eyes; he did not blame her, though it certainly was calming and refreshing to see that.

"Why are you here?"

Usui blinked at her cold voice, and decided to reply honestly, "I thought you would be in your room."

"I thought a _guest_ would sleep in a _guest room._" Usui raised his eyebrow, she was right. The events of last night jumbled his usual knife-sharp intuition. He felt happy nevertheless her anxiety, could it be considered… a success?

Seeing his expression, Ayuzawa twitched slightly and got off the bed and back to her own bedroom, her stomach thumping uncomfortably. Quickly, she changed from her pajamas into a simple, strapless, silk dress, a butterfly knot tied at the base of her waist in elegant red, like the rest of the dress.

As she made her way to the door after cursing at her watch internally, she opened the bedroom and looked at Usui, who was still sitting on top of Igarashi's bed with a dumb smile on his face. At the look of his smile, Misaki almost felt as though the past six years never happened, it was so nostalgic.

"There are some clothes in the closet, they belong to Tora, they will probably fit you. You can take a shower if you want. Once you are done, you may leave. The door will lock itself." She said to him once she realized that would never happen, and closed the bedroom door on him.

She threw on a pair of pointed, red high heels and pulled open the front door, she jumped back when a person's top half fell through the doorway.

"Gya!" The person jolted and jumped, bumping his head on the doorframe, "Ow!"

Holding the urge to laugh, Misaki pulled Igarashi in and pushed him onto the sofa.

Her heart twinged when she felt how cold his body felt.

"Hold on." She murmured at him in a rare soft voice and rushed into the kitchen, texting on the way to her assistant to entertain the business partner in whatever fashion he would want, and ignored all of the poor assistant's panics.

After she set the stove into place, she moved to her bathroom and filled her Jacuzzi full of hot water. Once the breakfast was finished cooking, the bath was also full. She dragged Igarashi, who was rather amused, to the bathroom along with a tray of food and a mug of hot chocolate and began to undress his tuxedo, which was still cold.

Igarashi swallowed, _maybe I should stay outside her door for a night again_, he thought wryly as his jacket was pulled off of him, but started to turn into a deep shade of prune as she worked to his shirt, and began to protest when she moved down to his pants.

"Whoa! I'll do it myself! Get out already!"

At the noise, the forgotten Takumi worked to the bell like sound of her nearly extinct laughter, which left both men entranced. Igarashi who heard it no more than five times over the past six years and Takumi, who has not heard of it again since that morning.

Without thinking about who or what they might be doing, Takumi barged into the bathroom, to find Igarashi looking at him in surprised, stripped to his underwear and Misaki who laughed with tears in her eyes and Igarashi's pants in one hand, and himself, who was in the middle of dressing in Igarashi's clothes.

It was indeed an unlikely situation, and all because Misaki drank a little bit too much of wine and cried too much the night before.


	7. The Maid-sama' Visitor's Unexpected Visi

Ugh… I am so annoyed… I was halfway done this chapter and word shut itself on me!

**The Maid-sama's Visitor's Unexpected Visitor**

Takumi was not a violent person. No, in fact, he was quite calm in most cases. Nevertheless, even the calmest, most indifferent man can erupt when they see their love stripping off the clothes of another man in the bathroom.

It wasn't as though Takumi planned it… but somehow, he charged into the bathroom and hit Igarashi square in the stomach.

Tora was not quite sure what to think, but the bathroom had burst open, and in came a pair of flaming green eyes, they had such hardness in them, a side of Usui Tora had never seen. The eyes exposed such hatred, but even more so, jealousy.

Too astonished to even move from the spot, the next thing Tora knew was that he was lifted from the ground by a crushing pain to his abdomen and another on his upper back as he was thrust flying into Misaki's marble bathroom counter.

When he lifted his head again, he could see stars clouding his vision and a weird feeling in his throat, he had not realized he had screamed, unusually loud too.

Through his blurry vision, he could see the blonde charging in for another strike, the same determined expression on his face as he began to rewind his fist… Tora closed his eyes, embracing himself for another strike…

It never came. Instead, was a surprised grunt from Usui and the sound of Misaki's heels racing from the bathroom into her bedroom, which was connected to her bedroom.

"Get out." Tora opened his eyes, Misaki stood in front of him, her feet shoulder width apart and her back facing him.

From around her waist, Tora could see Takumi on the bed, apparently unhurt, but nevertheless pushed out of the bathroom.

"GET OUT!" She screamed at him in a final sort of voice, her fists clenched at her sides, Tora could only remain stunned, the dull pain forgotten on his body. Misaki's outburst still ringing in his ears… the girl rarely raised her voice, and when she did, it was to call out at someone on the other side of the room. Seeing her lose control like this was somewhat of a treat, it set Tora's heart pumping louder than it should. He was… maybe slightly… turned on? The strange feeling toyed with his brain, oh yeah, this _was_ the Ayuzawa he first fell in love with, fiery and out of control.

Takumi stared at her in awe, his mouth almost hanging open, keyword: _almost_. It was not as though he was surprised, or irritated, or heck, scared. It was more like… a familiar warm feeling spreading into his chest that he completely forgot about over the past few years. It was less noisy without Ayuzawa in some ways, there were less screams, though it was also a billion times more so, whispers all around him, buzzing in his ears like bees. People standing around him with that same smile of theirs. Even when he was alone, his thoughts jumbled around in his mind was enough to drive him insane, haunted by her thoughts, haunted by their memories. Especially when it was night, he often wondered what she would be doing, and whom she was with, the thought always sent him hours of frustrations and several holes in his wall.

"Ayu-

"Get out." She muttered one more time before slamming the bathroom door in his face.

She heaved a couple of times in the hot air, the fumes from the Jacuzzi was starting to fill the large bathroom, fogging the mirrors and her conscience. The hot air did no good to calm her down.

Turning on her heel, she walked briefly over to Igarashi and gently pushed him from the counter into her lap, examining the bleeding scratch on his upper back and the slow bruise that was beginning to take over on his abdomen. With an impassive stare, she moved her hand over the wound and watched his wince. Confusion overtook her, sure, she was angry with Usui, but to some extent, she was not nearly angry with him enough. Yes, she was furious to the point of denting his skull, but yet not outraged enough to punch him back. It annoyed her that she could not bring enough strength into her fist to knock the bastard down, but instead simply pushed him with some force.

She eyed his wounds tenderly, his palms were quite red, the cut on her upper back looked rather nasty, and from the cupboard, she quickly grabbed some disinfectant.

"This might sting a bit…" she murmured to his back as she laid a hand on his broad shoulders and sprayed the thing on his wound, allowing the residue blood to flow down his back. After the task was done, she peeled off a large Band-Aid and stuck it to the open wound.

"Sorry about that."

Tora turned around to hug her with one of his arms at her sheepish voice, "don't worry about it, Kaichou, it had nothing to do with you." He whispered in her ear and began to start undoing her hair.

(*)

Takumi glanced curiously up at the sky through his sunglasses sitting on his convertible outside Ayuzawa's apartment. More than anything, he wanted to burst into that bathroom again, though something stopped him, he was not quite sure what, but it was powerful.

He shook his head in resignation, Ayuzawa never behaved the way he wanted to her to, and it irritated him to hell sometimes, nevertheless, it was a part of her he would never change.

Sighing, he pulled up a little smirk on his face and changed gears on his car, well, he had _several_ surprises for her.

(*)

Misaki threw on her dress and redid her hair, except this time, she left it be, allowing her somewhat wavy raven locks falling down her back, she pulled a comb through it several times after drying it quickly. Her gaze shifted to Igarashi, who looked at her with an amused expression on his face. At her attention, his face immediately coloured and a scowl took over the previous expression, he sank deeper into the Jacuzzi, feeling more thankful than ever that the water was a pearly white due to all the bubbles.

"I wanted to ask," he muttered in a high voice, "aren't you supposed to be at work by now?"

She nodded, "yes, I'm running quite late."

Igarashi raised an eyebrow, usually, she would be panicking by now.

"…my secretary informed me that the other party is also running quite late."

At this, Igarashi looked at her with a confused expression, "why's the bastard late?"

She shrugged, "you are so vulgar."

"Shut up!"

With a small smirk, she stalked out the bathroom with a small wave at him and then headed out to find her blood red Lamborghini.

(*)

There were some things Takumi failed to understand about his female companion and love. For example, how she managed to arrive at the meeting spot before him even though he had left earlier than her. Though that was probably the least of his surprises, the fact that Gerald looked at him with his usual smile while sitting beside her was even more puzzling.

Instead, Usui pulled up a smile and sat across them.

As expected, Ayuzawa was to the point and professional, within the hour, the contract was signed and sealed, and the three were enjoying English tea.

"You have changed much since I last saw you, Misa-chan." Gerald drawled, a grin on his face. Takumi knew that grin well, the man was going to try to trick the girl into something, although he trusted Ayuzawa to know of Gerald's tricks, one can never be too careful.

Ayuzawa smiled at him, one that did not reach her eyes. Takumi felt something stabbing at his heart knowing that he was the one that allowed that smile to reach her face.

"A lot has happened." She replied, the same smile on her face.

"Ah yes, I understand," he gave a little chuckle, "how about we have dinner together, just the two of us, since Takumi is such a busy man." He drawled, sliding his eyes from Ayuzawa to Takumi.

Takumi clenched his teeth, though he kept his expression the same. Over the years, he had to admit that the man was intelligent, or at the very least, much more intelligent than he first though Gerald with, so he was pretty damn smart.

On one thought, he could deny his statement and insist that he had no other tasks, but that would mean he would be directly stepping into Gerald's game. Or, the other option, to allow Gerald and Ayuzawa alone, which was completely against Takumi's sanity.

Oh well, if he was going to get double-played, than so be it.

"Actually, I'm rather free today." He smiled across at them, and saw Gerald raise an incredulous eyebrow.

"Really? Though I was sure I saw documents pile a meter high when I passed by your office today."

Takumi chose to ignore it; work was too easy and boring for him anyway. A meter high? He wanted to scoff; he has handled much worse than that.

"Well… if you really insist…" Gerald changed his direction from Takumi back to Ayuzawa, an excited expression no dawning on his face, "I do want to try some Japanese snacks, and I have never been to the night market. Karaoke sounds good too, you are a rather famous singer are you not? It would be wonderful to have my own private concert!" He folded his hands together and beamed up at Ayuzawa who simply nodded.

If it was one thing Takumi could not understand it was why Ayuzawa was actually going along with Gerald's plan. The two were probably the worst duo in his life, if they were going to attack him together, he doubted even his other worldly-ness could save him. He felt somewhat vulnerable, and 'Usui' was never vulnerable.

After Gerald's little trick that left Ayuzawa sprinting for Igarashi and Takumi left to sulk, lost, he returned to England, back to the prick. At first he simply wanted to destroy him, but then something changed.

Gerald was more different than Takumi thought he was.

It was an accident, but Takumi found himself in Gerald's bedroom, his desk and bed unusually messy, and a large collection of Ayuzawa's photos sprawled across his floor. Through the collection and documents, Takumi found out that rather than trying to ruin Ayuzawa, the man was actually trying to help the girl. He funded to Tokyo University, took care of much of her expenses that was unknown to both Ayuzawa and Igarashi, and contacted the scouting company that eventually turned Ayuzawa into a national celebrity.

Takumi could not for the life of him understand his actions, was it out of guilt? Out of need to replenishing all of the wretched things he had done to her?

Or maybe Takumi was just crazy and hallucinating.

(*)

Misaki resented Gerald for playing games with her feelings, for taking Takumi away from her, for revealing the truth that she did not see. Yet somewhere, somewhere deep down, she knows that she was somewhat thankful for him, or else she would never have seen Takumi's flaws.

Perhaps it was the day.

If it happened on a Monday instead, she might have just screamed at Takumi instead. If it was a Tuesday, she might have fainted. On Wednesdays, she would most likely pour freezing water down his head. Perhaps a Thursday would have been best; maybe she would have kicked the girl instead. On Fridays, she would have just beaten him half to death. Saturdays, she would have broken down and cried like a child in front of him.

However, it wasn't Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, nor Saturday, it was Sunday. The Sunday that proved to have killed her slowly from deep inside. The Sunday that caused her legs to carry her away with more strength than the rest of her body could muster. The Sunday that she ended in Igarashi's bedroom with nothing left but to lie silent on his bed. The Sunday that a part of her was ripped out and left with Usui… the part that she has yet to get back.

When work was done, which was rather short, she returned to her apartment. Igarashi was sitting on her sofa and flipping through her piano music in front of her black grand piano. He was wearing baggy jean shorts and a sleeveless white T-shirt. Under the light, she could see his muscles.

"Welcome back." He said with a smirk.

"I'm back." She murmured back, a small smile twirling on the edges of her lips.

"I still think you should have bought the white one." He examined the piano, running his hand across the keys.

She dropped her keys onto the floor along with her purse. They landed with a clang.

Igarashi turned to look at her things lying on the floor with a raised eyebrow, "are you still in a foul mood? Should I drive you to your shift tonight then?"

The girl shook her raven coloured long hair, "No, I have a date."

Every time she spoke, Igarashi would feel like one of Takumi's punches landed in his stomach. The dejection, the lack of fiery spirit that he loved all seemed to have disappeared. Throughout the years, he has always believed that one day, everything would return to her from some power deep within, and he would stay with her for as long as she needed.

Though as much as he wanted to avoid the question: was he the one that should be with her?

She disappeared around the corner but quickly returned, now dressed in black stockings and a baggy navy blue sweater with a large pocket and a hood. Briefly, she stalked up to him and gave him a hug.

Alarmed, Igarashi held her back, "What, Kaichou? Are you finally going to try and act like a girl now?"

Misaki closed her eyes, of all the strange things that have changed; the most significant was perhaps that she had found comfort in this strange man she never would have considered before.

It was in his arms that she felt the safest. Usui's had felt passionate, her heart never stopped jerking in his, it pulled her breath away and probably half of her guts.

Igarashi did the most heart-warming things, like how everything he planned seemed to mess up somehow. In a way, Misaki needed that, his clumsiness after being caught in Usui's perfection. It was not as though Usui had left her system, a part of her was his, and there was nobody who can take that away. Though subconsciously, although she had not given Igarashi a part of her, Igarashi had given her a part of him to fill some of the space that Usui took away.

"No." She pulled away with a smug smile, "I thought you needed an apology before I cheat on you." She stuck out her tongue and stepped into her flats while Igarashi rolled his eyes.

"Come back before midnight." He muttered, his face still pink from the hug.

Misaki waved at him, her eyes filled with amusement.

It was nice, this life.

(A/N) Before anybody PMs me and asks why Igarashi is not angry with Misaki 'cheating' on him. Technically, Misaki was joking, she's not actually cheating on him.


	8. The Maid-sama's Singing Lessons

**Here we go…**

Misaki rummaged through her LV purse and unlocked her iPhone, Igarashi's message displayed in front of her as the buzzing stopped abruptly.

«Did you arrive?» She sighed at the text, Igarashi was such a worry-wart, he always has been, but lately, even more so.

«Yes» She put in quickly and sent it. She did not like texting and tried to avoid it most of the time. It was true that she used to text Usui continuously, for every moment they did not spend glued to each other. Though now, she hates it, the little keys were so uncomfortable compared to the spacious keyboards of her laptops and computers.

It was suffocating.

Knowing that, Igarashi also tried to stay away from it.

"Misa-chan!" At the voice, she turned around on her black leather boots while dropping her phone back into the confines of her purse.

It was the first time Misaki had seen Gerald in something other than suits being himself, he was indeed a very handsome man.

The two of them smirked identically.

They matched.

Takumi walked up from behind them, amused. Interestingly, while Misaki had worn a large navy blue sweater with a hood and a large pocket, his brother was clad in a navy blue hoody with a large pocket, while Misaki wore black stockings and flat leather boots, his brothers had on black jeans and ankle high leather boots.

It was amusing, but Takumi did not like it one bit.

"Good evening, Walker-san, Usui-san." She bowed slightly, her professional shield immediately back up, twice as high as before.

Gerald laughed, "don't be so stiff Misa-chan, Gerald is fine, I'm not that familiar with Japanese formalities." He reached forward to touch her arm, but just as he was about to, a smiling Takumi instantly pushed him aside gently and extended his own hand towards her.

"Take care of me, Ayuzawa, won't you?"

Unblinkingly, Misaki extended her own hand and slapped it across his, "let's go."

Misaki was not relaxed in any shape or form, in fact, she was so tensed she wanted to immediately bolt back to her comfortable apartment.

She looked up, the sun was gone without a trace, replaced by a quiet white moon staring at her. It was unusually bright.

(*)

"Wah, having a celebrity sing is very different from normal people!" Gerald clapped, the same smile plastered to his face.

Misaki really did want to punch his face.

Takumi stretched and laid his legs in front of him, "back in high school, you couldn't sing at all."

Turning her attention to him, a faint, ironic smile pulled at the sides of her lips, "I could, I just didn't."

She turned away at his slightly surprised eyes and closed her own, high school felt so long ago. For some strange reason, Takumi's chest, which was rising up and down in a very calming fashion, still looked very warm and comfortable to Misaki. She sucked in a deep breath of alcohol filled air and sat back down on the sofa after passing the microphone to Gerald.

Instead of taking the microphone, he grinned at her, "why don't we sing a duet?"

Misaki took a quick look at the clock on the wall, it was eleven PM, she smiled back at him, what harm could it do?

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt slightly uncomfortable. For all she knew, Igarashi trusted her. She would do everything in her power to keep that bond between them.

She picked up another microphone from the coffee table, which consisted of several glasses of wine and a couple cans of beer, which all remained untouched. Misaki thought Takumi would drink alcohol more now, but Gerald revealed to her that the man had long since touched the damned thing.

Misaki felt slightly touched.

She pouted, _he deserves it…_

"Shall we sing one of yours then?"

Gerald's sudden statement wakened Misaki from her thoughts, "if you want…"

"Oh, how about this duet! With this Akio person?"

Misaki nodded, the song was not one of her favorites, in fact, she did not like it much. It consisted of all her feelings after agreeing to Igarashi's request of going out with him, she tried to sing it as less as possible, she did not enjoy revisiting those painful memories.

"Do you know the song?" She looked up at him, who frowned.

"I'm tone deaf, doesn't matter what I sing, it will be the same, so it doesn't matter if I know the song or not."

Misaki arched a perfect eyebrow but grinned.

"But right now, I need to use the washrooms." The man waved and walked out the door, leaving only behind the scent of his cologne and a black jacket.

Takumi sighed, now would be a great moment for him to face-palm, but he restrained himself from doing so. Gerald had forgotten that the suite that they were in already _had_ a washroom, complete with a bedroom and a dining room with chefs that could be called upon for food. He glanced at Misaki, who was flipping through the songbook in a 'don't-bother-me' air, slowly; he walked over and sat beside her.

Almost immediately, he felt his heartbeat quicken to such an extent that he wanted to run away and hide himself somewhere far away. Though his jelly legs prevented him from moving anywhere, it was with sheer force and good genes that Takumi was able to keep his provokingly annoying blush down.

Once again, Takumi could not help but be blown away on the raven-head's power on him. She made him feel like a teenager all over again, except he was no longer in the position to control her. Or rather, he was never in any position of advantage, Ayuzawa had always had him in her palm, twirling him around however she wanted, though he could say she never wanted anything to do with him at first.

"Did you want to sing?" She passed the book to him, determined not to look at him in the face. Instead, her eyes landed on his hands. A very unwelcomed memory of his hand grasping hers from last night overtook her jumbled mind. Annoyed, she chose to stand her ground, now way was she going to lose to him again. She already lost once, and that led to her being broken, she shudders to think of what would happen if she lost to him again.

"Does Ayuzawa want me to sing?" He forced a grin, allowing a what he hoped looked liked a relaxed expression overtake his face

She sighed, "He's not going to come back, is he?"

"I like it better without him." He smirked, happy at Misaki's almost surprised expression.

"I remember when I first heard you sing…" She sighed, the memory seemed so distant, so disconnected. It felt like a different dimension, someone else's experiences implanted in her head.

Takumi kept quiet, his voice stuck in his throat, he remembered too. The incident was short, his first time going karaoke with Misaki was a moment he somewhat treasured, it was loud, noisy, and completely unlike him.

"Your voice was quite pretty." She hung her head at the confession. The words were foreign, too far away and too soft. A small tug at her heart triggered the painful aches in her chest; her quiet companion listened, though she dared not look at him.

From the center coffee table, she grabbed a bottle and poured herself some. She allowed her mouth to devour the foul tasting drink before setting her eyes on the label – Tequila.

The alcohol added some courage in her as she offered the bottle. Takumi shook his head, he had not drunk alcohol for six years.

"The fireworks were pretty too." She laughed, her face muscles could not stop smiling, yet she could feel absolutely no humour from the bottom of her heart.

"Remember the camera you gave me? It's still in my parents' house… I couldn't throw it away, pathetic, huh?" She wanted to clap her hands over her mouth to stop her pointless blabbering; she will most likely regret it later.

"There was that time too… you caught me when I fell off the mansion in England." Her tired face muscles were starting to hurt from the laughing, and she could feel her vision being obscured by hot tears threatening to spill.

"And then you gave me that ring…" Takumi clenched his fists, he wanted to hug her, yet he could not bring himself to touch her. He had already forfeited that right. It ravaged his spirit, the monster with in him thrashed against its leash. Perhaps it was fate that led him to this. Had he turned back time, nowhere in his mind would Misaki be with anyone else, at anywhere else. They belonged together, ever swiftly moving by each other.

Now, he could only yearn behind her, shamelessly pulling out whatever he had left to some how bring her back. Some how lie to her that nothing happened.

She was now a glowing amber, like her eyes, burning hot.

Too hot to touch, too warm to leave.

"I never thought… why did you…" Her voice shook desperately as the warm liquid finally poured out, sliding over her cheeks and her still laughing mouth, "We had a promise…"

Takumi stiffened, her voice rebounding and echoing in his ears. All their sweet memories are now nothing but bitter boulders dragging them down as they try to climb out. Or perhaps Takumi was not trying to leave, perhaps he wanted to stay locked in his memories, perhaps Misaki was too.

_I'm sorry, it was my fault, forgive me… forgive me…_

The unspoken words left unspoken as the night dies away once more.

_Your choice, Kaichou. _

_If you choose to turn around, everything… all our dreams and wishes, all our happiness and pain, I will endure together with you. _

_Turn around, Kaichou, come back. _


	9. The Maid-sama's Close Memories

**The Maid-sama's Close Memories**

The day her mom died, she thought she would die.

But at the same time, she wanted to live.

The turbulence that struck her seemed to take her breath away. She would rather Takumi leave her a thousand times than to experience that pain of her flesh and blood being cut away by some worthless drunk.

Funny, Takumi left her drinking too.

Alcohol…

What was so good about it?

She hated it.

The man was a typical eighteen-year-old boy who just left high school; she was two years older than him when it happened. It was summer vacation; he had been accepted into a good university quite a distance away from home. As a result, he ended up drinking with his friends while his parents were not home and taking his dad's car out for camping at the beach.

He didn't have a license.

He was barely a ten-minute drive from home when he ran over the woman carrying some bags after returning home after a long day at work.

Misaki's mother, to be specific.

She was either extremely lucky that Igarashi was beside her, or she was extremely unlucky, she was not quite sure which.

Maybe it was shock that spun her first, or pain. Misaki didn't know which one hit dock.

She could not feel a single thing; her dry eyes and mouth hang open as she pressed the phone back onto its seat. She grabbed Tora's kitchen chain and threw it across the room as adrenaline completely over took her. The chair smashed into her wall with a loud crash and knocked over the lamp, where it crashed on the kitchen floor in an ear-splitting high noise.

Her body could no longer be hers, because the pain was too far away from her, her eyes and clammy hands could not be her own, for they were in another's control. The heart-wrenching scream could not be from her throat; nothing could make such a tortuous noise.

That's right, Misaki must not be there anymore, it must be someone else that was in her body. Must be someone else screaming the ceiling down as Igarashi tried to calm her down. Must be anything but reality.

Because Misaki must have already died. Her world had already collapsed, taking down with it Misaki. Everything stopped.

So why is the clock on the wall still running?

By the time she finally laid down on the sofa, Igarashi had already ordered a private jet to send her back home immediately.

So she lay, once again, not quite broken, not quite together, she was… simply gone. Separated her mind from her body as she drifted away, allowing her mind to remain blind. Nevertheless, she was still there, the pain teared through her body again and again, burning her with that fierce fire that she could do nothing about but to wait for it to end, hope for it to end.

Though it never ended.

The dull pain that she must carry, never really left.

Never once had she thought she would want to hurt someone so passionately. She wanted to tear him from limb to limb, to dissect him, to make him feel every ounce of pain that he inflicted on her family.

She wanted him to die, but death seemed too easy and much too painless.

Then, she didn't want anything to do with anymore, she craved to forget. It was Igarashi, and Igarashi again that pulled her out. He, who tended to her day after day. He, who tried to bring the smile back onto her face and the pain out of her eyes.

Yet, she also thirsted for _him,_ for Takumi.

Not because she liked him more than she like Igarashi, but simply because she missed him.

That's right, she never did stop missing him. Day in and day out, he was always with her in her subconscious mind.

_She hated him._

Really, really did, or at least, that's what she told herself.

(*)

Drowsily, she found himself covered warmly in an unfamiliar bed.

_Where am I?_

She reached out and grabbed her purse from the table beside her and swore out loud in her hoarse voice.

50 missed calls: Igarashi

72 new messages: Igarashi

Desperately, she shook her cell phone and attempted to make a call.

"You're awake?" A voice murmured from the doorway, "if you're going to call him, I would wait a bit."

Misaki frowned, "why?"

Yesterday felt so long ago, yesterday when he pushed him out of her apartment in an outburst of fury. By now, that little bit of fire had already died.

"Because he is unreasonably angry at the moment."

Misaki's frown deepened at his grin.

"Why?"

Takumi walked towards her and pulled her cell phone out of her hands and then sat right down on the edge of the bed. Misaki could not help but move slightly to the other side.

He ignored her.

"Here, see how all his calls and texts are before two?" He began to explaining, pointing at the times on the device.

"Well you see, I called him back once." He chuckled and dodged when Misaki tried to grab her cell phone back.

"Give it back." She growled, and she attempted to get up, but fell back immediately as a surge of hangover completely overtook her.

Takumi rushed to her side and caught her by the arm.

"Are you alright? Want a bath?" Misaki shook her head.

"Wait here." He muttered in her ear after setting her back down onto the bed.

Tired but amused, Misaki fell into his rhythm. He was cooking, the sound of him doing so calmed him.

Takumi had a very organized cooking sound, like most chefs, but he was even more predictable. His chopping consisted of three quick chops and one slower chop. Misaki hummed to it, though she caught herself and pouted in anger to herself as Takumi returned with porridge and a glass of strawberry juice.

She sighed and took a sip of the porridge and felt her spine shiver.

They fell into step so easily, so normally.

And Takumi's cooking was as good as ever.

"Get up." He forcefully pulled her up after setting the tray on the bedside table and proceeded to sniffing her clothes.

"Eek!" She pushed him away, "What are you doing!"

Takumi pushed himself up and jerked his head to a door, "go take a bath, you stink."

Humiliated and confused at the exhaustion from the night before and the events of the morning, she pulled herself up from the bed and proceeded as ordered, allowing Takumi to assist her on her unsteady feet.

"You can drink quite a bit, I'm surprised." He commented as he braided his hand under her arms and balanced her to lean on him.

"It's demanded of me." Takumi's eyes shifted to her head, the loneliness in her voice stole his attention. Though he said no more after setting her in the laundry room.

"Leave your clothes here, and go through that door, I already filled the tub."

She nodded at his curtness.

"Or would you like me to stay?"

She wanted to punch him.

After shoving the perverted outer space alien out the door, she allowed her clothes to slip off her and left them folded on the counter top before stepping into his bath. The hot steamed air bathed over her, leaving her drowsy and filled in his scent. Moments after, she heard Takumi coming into the laundry room briefly and leaving again, no doubt with her clothes.

She missed this about him. Takumi always knew exactly what she needed without her bothering to say a word. It was that weird, bizarre connections they had that tied them together.

Slowly, she felt herself drifting away as she set herself in the hot bath. The drowsiness was taking over…

_Mom… mom… where are you?_

_Why did you leave me, mom?_

_Where should I go? How can I see you again?_

_Mom…_

"Are you done yet?" The voice woke her immediately, Misaki looked around and grabbed the large towel as she rose from the large bathtub.

She felt light-headed and thoroughly breathless as she draped the towel over her head, it fell to the floor and covered her.

It smelled like him.

No good.

The image of Igarashi's face blurred her memory as she flushed at the innocent hug they shared before she departed.

"Usui… give me my cell phone, I want to go home."

(*)

When her mom died, she was so fragile, so breakable.

Igarashi's hand suspended in midair, not knowing if he should touch her frozen cheek or gloss over her dark hair, her quivering lip or shaky breath.

Though the thing that disturbed him the most was her glassy gaze.

Void of everything but pain.

If he could take away her pain, he was prepared to do anything. That was how he felt. If he could close her eyes and bring warmth back into her, he would not care what he would have to do. He missed her smile, just when he thought she had finally cheered up, something else digs into her.

The poor, poor girl.

So in the end, he did nothing but simply stare at her, like he always did. He was so useless. She had the power to make him feel so weak, so powerless, when she needed someone strong enough to take the blow of the storm for her.

"Just cry…" he whispered to her, all the chairs in his dining room was destroyed, including a window and a lamps and various other things.

He couldn't care less.

"Just cry Misaki, just cry." The soft murmur of her name seemed to have reached her, since she flung herself into his arms and grabbed him in such a painful way that Tora had to spend several moments to catch his breath again.

She screamed incoherently and shrilly into his ear. She teared into his flesh, so that for several days, his arms were covered in a pair of bruises.

He couldn't care less.

He tried to think of something to say to her, though anyone who knew him, even just a bit under the perfect mask he wore would know that he was no good at this. So he simply held her until her tears ran dry, and her voice was hoarse, until he too, had tear tracks stained into her clothes.

It was sad to think that all he could do was to lend her a shoulder to cry.

"You need to be with your family." He finally said as he lifted them both off the floor feebly, pain stabbing at his back and lack of strength in his numb legs.

"Let's go." The walk to the waiting private jet was not long, neither was it long for Misaki to arrive in the arms of her weather-doll like sister and broken father.

"Your mother… she would rather be sent off with a smile rather than that crying face." The older man patted their heads, his own tears barely kept at bay.

"And you…" he addressed Tora, who looked up immediately with a slight bow, "thank you… for taking care of her."

The older man's tortured smile brought Tora a new wave of pain.

Never would he ever let Misaki show that face, he vowed.

_Ever_.

**Just wondering, who do you think Misaki should end up with? **


	10. The Maid-sama's Little Hangover

**Wow, that's a lot of Igarashi! Personally, I'm not sure. Ah well, I'll just see how everything turns out! Thank you for your opinions!**

**Chapter 9 -**

Misaki tore the towel off her hair; the smell was getting to her.

She was unsurprised to note that Usui had maintained the same shampoo over the years. Silently, she promised herself she would most definitely wash her hair again at home as soon as possible. Though explaining to Tora would take priority.

Oh yeah, there's work too.

She put on the clothes that Usui had bought for her. He was indeed fast; she could not have been more than half an hour, once again, to her very unsurprised face, Usui had gotten everything exactly her size, _everything._

"Go home, huh?" He grumbled from the other side of the laundry room, her form in the translucent glass very clear to him, he could practically imagine exactly what she looked like behind that glass. Uncharacteristically, he felt his cheeks heat up slightly, it was an unpleasant feeling, and so he fought to calm his annoying beating heart.

"Yes." She muttered, her voice low and tired, "I'll call him."

She pushed open their translucent barrier; stepping out in a smooth, white, taffeta dress and shorts under her dress.

Takumi shook his head, "There's no point buying that dress for you if you're just going home." He smirked, though his eyes looked dead serious, with a hint of sadness.

"My phone?" Seeing her hard, expressionless face, Takumi sighed and handed the device to her.

"I already texted him, he said he'll be here in half an hour."

"You're unnecessary. Isn't it basic manners not to use someone's phone without asking?"

"And you know my address?"

"…"

Once again, he let the smug smile overtake his face, "but you know, now you have a reason to visit me." Misaki ignored him and sat on his sofa.

As usual, his apartment was simple, with only one guest room.

Unable to suppress her curiosity, she opened her mouth, "what's the guest room for?"

He shrugged, "You."

Misaki raised an eyebrow, "I don't even live here, why do you need one for me?"

"Because I don't know when you might come back."

"Come back? I never even lived here."

"That's not what I meant," he snapped his head at her, his barrier slowly crumbling, "to me, come back to me."

She too, could feel her patience start to wear away, "I thought we already settled that matter." It was tiring, she did not want to feel the same hope again, did not want to be around the twirl of his finger, did not want to return to being so stupid that she could not see past that one single man. This was okay, she was okay with being stuck in time, but not to turn back again onto the person whom she was supposed to forget, except he wasn't playing fair.

"I'm sorry."

She could feel herself starting to tremble as the words barely left his mouth, "You're not, so don't worry about it." She muttered clearly, her voice barely louder than the perturbing silence.

The blonde held his breath, he felt so helpless, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" He whispered again, he was losing the battle against Misaki; then again, ironically, he never really won against her.

"Stop it…"

"I'm sorry… sorry…"

His voice was like a melody of torture to her, like a spider web, trying to drag her into the world she despised, trying to shut her into his sweet dream once again, binding her to his words. Her shaking increased as she tried to force herself away from his dragged out harmony, grabbing into her sub consciousness.

"I thought I told you to SHUT UP!" She screamed, her fists tightly clenched as though grabbing onto the last bit of sanity in her to not jump on him.

She breathed raggedly; he had stopped his almost occult like chant. Still hit by the remaining bit of hangover, she stumbled her way to the door and stepped into the sneakers she had worn the night before and ignored the pretty beige sandals Takumi had prepared for her.

"I'm… I'm leaving… thank you for… the food" She mumbled quickly, desperate to run away from the same living space as him. Her head was starting to ache again.

Everything felt wrong, they weren't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to blush and grudgingly tell him everything was okay, and that she would forgive him. He was supposed to pull up a smug smirk and do something perverted, like the perverted outer space alien he is. Like the perfect Takumi she knew.

Life was really quite interesting, all those time she wanted to break through his perfectness, she ends up seeing how flawed he really is.

She walked briskly, the hallway was large and easy to turn in, though she felt suffocated.

The elevator opened with a small ding, and she rushed in, landing in the chest of a man.

"Sor-"

"Ah, Misaki-chan."

The black haired man smiled at her, "So you spent the time in his apartment, did you thank him properly?"

She looked at him, trying to keep her hostility at bay, "Yes." She whispered, her voice sounded low, hopefully, Gerald did not detect the slight shiver in her voice.

"Is that so?" He smiled, "Well, I will be blunt here, I thought I would meet you if I came here."

Misaki raised an eyebrow.

"Quite simply, I came to make your life more difficult."

There was a slight laugh in his throat as he closed the elevator door in front of the two men who wanted to get on.

"You see, I simply thought it would be more interesting if I told you, since you so obviously are still holding a grudge against him."

"I'm no-"

He waved a hand at her, "you see, I drugged him." He shrugged, "but you knew that already didn't you?"

"I-"

"And yet, you still blame him… I wonder why…"

"You-"

"Well, I will be going now, Misaki-chan, see you around." The man got off with a bright smile and a suggestive wink, leaving confusion, anger, and familiar guilt in the pit of her abdomen.

It was not her fault… it was Gerald's fault, and now he gets to sit back and relax and watch his perfectly simulated soap opera… while Misaki could do nothing but grind her teeth at him.

In a fit of anger, she began to run after him, she was not going to let him run all over her, hell no! Now that he specified it, Misaki can finally apply her revenge, right?

No… she stopped running as her eyes darkened once more.

Going against him was her weakness, the man was not only smart and had equally smart and talented servants, he was also extremely _lucky._

Instead, she simply stumbled outside of his apartment building and leaned against the wall, her white taffeta dress shining under the sun.

"Kaichou!" His car parked in front of her, ran off from his seat and hugged her tight.

"Did anything happen?"

Still shaken by Gerald's arrival, she smiled and shook her head, "No, I'm sorry if I worried you."

Her voice had sounded cold and distant, formal. Tora raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Kaichou, spit. It. Out."

It was her look… _that _look, the one that showed that she wanted to hide something.

Instead, she pouted and pushed him aside, "quite joking around, I need to go to work!

You know, I skipped the past three shifts?"

"Tch, you're the boss, who's going to care if you skip? They probably like it better without you anyway."

"Shut up!"

Misaki chuckled and smiled on her way back to her shift, though in the back of her mind, Gerald's words pierced her. They were quite simple, but they ravaged her mind, the things that she wanted to bury deep in her memory, something she can recall one day when she was old and have no emotional affiliation with it…

Something that she can laugh about when she was eighty with Tora.

It was still there though… always bugging her…

_Maybe it wasn't his fault… maybe I was too hard on him…_

She wasn't wrong, she had every right to leave him, yet it simply remained that she left him while he was still vulnerable to Gerald's attacks. Misaki knew that perfectly from the start. It wasn't quite as though she wanted to do so, in fact, she had tried with her own strength to forgive him…

Except she was not particularly angry.

"Igarashi…" She whispered gently, gathering the man's attention instantly, "what kind of person am I to you?"

"Hah? What, are you still drunk?" He raised an eyebrow, her strange question caught him off-guard, what was he supposed to say? You are so important to me that I never want you to see him again?

She shrugged, "I just wanted to hear it. Is it weird?"

"Hell yeah!" He blushed slightly, "… well… I think that… that you are very… interesting."

She frowned, "interesting?"

"Yea-yeah! Well, not really… you… I think you are… UGH!" He stepped on the brakes and sighed.

Slowly, he turned to face her, the flush still apparent on his face, at that moment, Misaki thought that the word 'interesting' would suit him more than it suit her. He started to lean towards her, his hands lingering gently above hers. From his lemon coloured eyes, she could sense him seeking for approval, the uncertainty seeping through his teeth gently grinding the inside of his lips.

Instead of waiting for him, she leaned in instead, sealing their distances together, a faint light-headedness overtaking her previous hesitancy. Tora swallowed slightly, he could feel their noses barely touching each other, and her breath tickling his lips. She moved in a little bit more, pressing herself against him lightly, opening her mouth slightly when he moved his hands behind her back and rubbed themselves closer, trying to shorten any bit of distance. Their angled heads burying into each other smoothly, he accepted her invitation and searched through her softness, lightly tapping each other until Tora felt his the desire in him grow thoroughly well and the breath supply in his lungs fairly short. Despite that, he was still disappointed when she pulled back, keeping only their foreheads together as she allowed a small smile to smooth her wet lips.

Suddenly, he snapped back when a car behind them honked. Annoyed, he started to accelerate.

Misaki's tinkering laugh filled his ears for a second and her scent covered her the next as she leaned over him to pull his seatbelt over him.

"You forgot." She smirked at his surprised gasp.

"Do you think… you can skip your shift today?"

**A little break from all that depressing stuff, Usui cheating on her… mother dying… and now something with Gerald… ah well, Misaki… better prepare yourself!**


	11. The Maid-sama's Rhapsody of Whispers

"Good morning," he muttered, a frown on his face.

The girl, no, _woman_, merely smiled, "Morning, Igarashi. I'm going to head to the café now."

He rolled his eyes, "I can tell." Then turned around after a long groan at the morning sun.

Of all the things Misaki thought could be part of Tora's habits, being the most unmorning-ish person ever was not one of them. The man is literally an auto-robot for the first five hours starting the moment he woke up, and Misaki could not expect a single proper conversation out of him except for "I will see what I can do" and "please consult with my secretary".

She soon left after leaving some miso soup, rice, and eggs for Tora.

His day was just as mundane as normal, perhaps more mundane than Misaki's, who at least had some what Tora called, _proper_ human interaction.

In the end, he stayed in his office for the day, the clock ticking away while he typed and signed, reviewed and stamped, negotiated over phone calls, and smiled generically in meetings. By the time he finally had the time to take a sip of Maki's well-brewed coffee, it was two in the morning.

_Kaichou should be sleeping now…_

He thought distastefully, he was jealous as hell, but the thought was also warm and comforting. Oh, how he wanted to somehow magically teleport into her bedroom, just strip away the awfully annoying clothes and simply lie down next to her, yes, and maybe have a touch at the delicately soft skin of hers… it was a nice thought, he'll be sure to find the time to do that.

Tora pulled open a drawer, the one with the key, and Misaki's photo stared up at him. She was not smiling, or even looking at the camera, it was of one of those days in which he simply sat on his bed looking out the window. Although the photo was from quite a while ago, six years to be exact, Misaki didn't look too different. More refined, sharp, defined, but also twisted, broken, blurred… like a doused fire.

He left one in her apartment too, stuck in between the pages in one of those photo shoots or magazines, Tora wondered if Misaki had seen it, he hope not, one of these days, he will have to go and retrieve it.

At the sound of the door handle turning, Tora shut the drawer gently, and pretended to be looking over his work with a certain arrogantly important air.

He looked up and smiled his usual half beam, a feeling of friendliness, but not quite friendly enough… until that smile turned into a frown when the girl (I mean woman…) charged across the room, shoved half his papers off his desks, jumped on top of the desks, grabbed Tora's head, and clutched it tightly against her breasts, which were heaving ruggedly.

"Tora…" Her voice was soft, almost pleading, and he didn't dare look into her eyes, because somewhere… he knew…

"Tora…" Despite her somewhat calm tone, he could sense the disturbance, the awful, mind boggling impending death that would surely ensue.

He was scared, though he already sensed this since the first moment she ran blank eyed into his house so many years ago. In his little dream filled with the sudden realization of horror that it may turn into a sudden nightmare.

A nightmare? What a joke. His life simply returned to the way it was before, except it will never be the same, because Misaki was here. Had left her traces all over his world, stepped in his grass, nourished his flowers, unclouded his skies, tore his heart in half and kept a piece for himself.

Maybe not quite his heart, perhaps it was his mind instead.

She slid down slowly, falling into his lap as his chair rolled back from the force pushing towards it.

Then she kissed him, like she never kissed him before. Hot and wet, desperately jamming their lips together, teeth clashing together and tongues wrestling fervently. There was pain in the sweet bliss, not just physically, not just from his lower lip tearing slightly as Misaki's teeth slashed them open to reveal metallic tasting red droplets, nor from the soreness in his tongue. It made him want to bawl loudly but didn't want to stop what he was doing. Tora's hands started to move on their own, from her back, sliding down to her bum, and to her thighs, which rested on either side of his own. The movement of her body was too much, it warped him in pleasure, but also pain, but the pain was a part of the pleasure, and the pleasure the pain, until he wasn't quite sure which was which, and started to question his sanity.

The next morning, when he woke up on his own, on the sofa of his office, it was not the usual mundane blurred mess of a brain that greeted him, but an unusual hole in his chest, not only his chest though, all over his body. His head was clearer than ever before, maybe he should be happy that he would not find in the afternoon while in the bathroom that he had not put his boxers on the wrong way, except he wasn't. Functionality was a problem; he didn't want to move, except he must, because if he stayed, he would be devoured by this unbearable agony. Did it hurt? Maybe it really did not.

He looked around; Misaki had picked through his papers and organized them back onto the desk, it was even neater than usual. Tora wondered what she felt when she was brushing through his things, and to get a sense of the feeling, he pushed himself from the sofa with all the strength he could muster and brushed over them. His neatly folded clothes, the arm of the leather sofa, his comfortable looking chair where it started, the awfully full desk, and finally, the drawer.

It lay open, clear for him to see, in her pretty handwriting from years of practice, the carefully formed words on the slip that covered her face from the picture, 'thank you'. He stared at it for what felt like hours, days even, the sun could have risen and fallen, dawn and dust might have exchanged a thousand times for all he cared, until finally, with a drop of water landing on the slip (that was definitely not his tear), he pushed it shut.

_She left…_

Yeah… she did…

_She won't come back…_

No… she probably won't…

_I think I'm sad…_

Yeah, you sure as hell are.

_Fuck it._

Yeah, fuck it.

_BUT I DON'T FUCKING WANT IT TO END!_

BUT IT DID!

_She left…_

Yeah… she did…

By the time Tora finally had the decency to put on some clothes with his powerless limbs, he tore them right off again and rubbed them against his face.

_Fuck, my clothes still smell like her._

Except the engagement ring was nowhere to be found.

**(A/N) Yup, I skipped a huge part of it, which I wrote and then deleted because I realized the story was rated 'T', and frankly, I didn't want to change the rating to 'M' since that would be unfair to those who didn't like lemon. **

**If you stayed with me until now… thank you! Though you are most likely confused on what the hell just happened. Well, I'll answer all that in the next chapter (hopefully). **


	12. The Maid-sama's Dying Words

_It didn't hurt, it just stung a bit._

Misaki threw the pin away into the garbage and examined her arm.

As usual, all she left was a red mark that would soon disappear in a few hours.

Tora was still sleeping on the sofa, his face calm and baby like, the cat like eyes she adored were shut behind a curtain of long lashes.

Sighing, she began to organize the papers she made a mess of, making sure to sort them by page number and sticky noting the places Tora will need to sign when he feels ready to work again, whenever that is. As the stack of sticky notes started to disappear, Misaki found herself holding the last one. It was the white one that was simply a piece of paper, with nothing on the back and could not adherent itself onto anything. Twirling a pen in her hand, she stared at it, unsure of what to write, but the words came naturally, as though the words were already on the paper, and she was merely tracing them with ink. In the end, she left it in a drawer, allowing it fall freely onto the picture, of everything heavy and cold, she could feel the weight of a single tear draining away the bits of pain that was accumulating, and would surely explode with all its impending doom.

The sun had risen, their time was over.

Dragging her feet across the floor, she fixated her eyes on his office, attempting to memorize every last detail of their night together. The whispery kisses and lack of words, desperate caresses filled with longing… she reached the door, the metal handle looked cold, she did not quite want to touch it just yet. With one last fleeting look around at the man lying on the sofa, she turned back. Her eyes were wild, still attempting to search a way out with her calculative brain. Though if she turned back now, she would never reach the door again.

So she turned it, and stepped out, shutting it with a final, hollow sigh.

(*)

"Hello? Ayuzawa speaking."

"Misa-chan," a happy drawling voice sounded across the line, Misaki could almost feel his smirk.

"Gerard." She murmured coldly in acknowledgement.

"Ah, what is with that tone? I called to offer my congratulations to your engagement with Tora-kun!"

"Thank you." Curt and short.

She continued to exchange surface greetings with him, and they both knew very well of his true intentions… she just hoped it was not so fast.

Half and hour later, the call ended, Gerard with the same smug smile on his face and Misaki with a calm face but a shaking hand.

"_The Igarashi corporation relies on the Walker- meaning me, for financial support, if we were to pull our assets away… I believe you have an idea or two of what could happen." _

Misaki shook her eyes, her bottom lip starting to bleed as her teeth dug deeper into the flesh.

"_Although Tora-kun might not be too upset about that, but surely you would have know how it feels to be driven by debt."_

"DAMN FUCK!" She screamed, grabbing the closest thing to her and flinging it across the room, where the tissue paper box landed with a dull blow.

"_I understand you would support him, though I wonder how well you can hold out?" _

"Ugh… uh…" Misaki fell down, tired and worn, but the bubbling anger still radiating through her body like heat, she wanted to hurt somebody.

"_It's quite simple really, you and Takumi are still quite fond of each other, are you not? Well, if you are not, I would not mind taking you in either… I do take back what I said years ago. You are useful, Misa-chan, and I would like to make use of you." _

A tool to play around with, that was what Misaki was to Gerard. Sometimes, he left her completely alone, like he had the last six years, or he spun her world around, tossing it upside down and shaking her like a rag doll. The same way he took Takumi away, the same way he controlled her world indirectly with that same annoying smile of his, and that face that looked so much like Takumi's.

Misaki had long since learned that plain effort only works if there are no obstacles, but there are always obstacles.

(*)

She was too far down, drowning in the ocean for far too long. Anything else would be fine, but her mind would not stop buzzing, and incoherent thoughts were killing the last bit of sanity she possessed.

Nevertheless, however she felt, that did not matter to anybody else. Shifting her weight to one side, she carried the large luggage out her apartment in her casual high heels and a pair of dark sunglasses.

The elevator man nodded at her, "Good day, ma'am."

She smiled back, "It's quite beautiful, yes."

It hurt… it hurt so much, she wanted to go back already. His soft hair still lingered on the pads of her fingertips, and her swollen lips still smelled of his breath mints.

"Have a nice day, Tachibana-san." She waved, pushing out the handle and dragging her luggage out, smiling brightly.

The elevator man tipped his hat, "'Course, ma'am."

Misaki passed her card and car keys to the usual boy. He smiled at her and nodded, "Misaki-san, hi."

Mizuki is a college student who works part time at Misaki's apartment, she got along well with him, every once in while, she would bring him biscuits or drinks if she ever came home late and found him sitting behind the desk madly highlighting his textbooks.

She smiled back at him, and after a quick exchange of greetings was left alone behind the wheels. Her expression falling from cheerful to the usual glumness. It was dizzying, to be driving in such a condition, it was the fourth time someone important to her left, except this time, she was the one who stepped out. She squeezed her eyes shut, _stop it, stop thinking about it…_

Whatever it was, she was almost relieved to see the modest apartment leering down on her, taking a deep breath, she charged in, her large luggage making a ruckus behind her.

She made her way into the elevator, her anger boiling up again. Just a few days ago, in the same elevator, she had seen that despicable man.

Smiling as the door swung open, she put on her largest, most cheerful smile yet, "Why hello there, Takumi. I'm thinking of moving in with you."

(*)

Suzuna flipped onto her side and poked at the cheek of the man beside her, who murmured something that sounded like "'m sweep… sweeping…"

"Hey, Hamburger-kun, when do you think onee-san will visit us?"

When the sleepy man did not budge, she rolled her eyes and slapped a pillow over his face, then laid her back over the pillow, refusing to move even as the man started to gasp for air.

"It's been three years already, I miss her." She continued, ignoring the muffled screams of terror beneath her.

Finally, she rolled off him, and Hinata bolt up, taking large gasps of air as his tomato red face returned to normal.

"That was mean, Suzuna-chan…" He wheezed weakly, slamming back down on to the bed, eyes closed, "why don't you just visit her then?"

Suzuna tilted her head at the red head, then smiled faintly, "maybe I will."

(*)

Since long, he has always known that she was a caged bird who longed for freedom. After their long-awaited embrace, all that will be left will be her feathers flowing in the wind.

They were never meant to be.

But her being together with him was better than letting her go with _that_.

She too, realized that all she had was herself to rely on. The moment her heart had started beating because of him, their love had been brooding torment. No matter how they lied to themselves, no matter how tight they clung on together, they never had enough wood to keep it burning.

Not because their love has died, but because they had no more energy to keep on loving.

"_You know, Tora, if it was going to be this hard. I wish I never went to you."_

Her confession hung in the air in his office, hardening the space around him, repeating last night over and over again. How he wished his love could burn to ashes, so that at least he could feel balanced. It was the feeling of needing to do something, but there was nothing he could do that hurt the most. Every minute and second that he stepped past by was merely an illusion, time never really existed. It is a frozen river, their future had always been there, unchangeable. There was no God, just physics, and reality.

_I miss you already, Misaki._

_Will you come back?_

**A/N: relatively short chapter, mainly because the second part and the first part are quite… different. So I promise I'll post the second part fast! Just a heads up, I will be (finally) cleaning up my chapters in the next few weeks. **


End file.
